Submersible pumping systems are often deployed into wells to recover petroleum fluids from subterranean reservoirs. Typically, a submersible pumping system includes a number of components, including an electric motor coupled to one or more pump assemblies. Production tubing is connected to the pump assemblies to deliver the petroleum fluids from the subterranean reservoir to a storage facility on the surface. Each of the components in a submersible pumping system must be engineered to withstand the inhospitable downhole environment.
The efficient recovery of oil and gas from wells depends on maintaining clean formations, casing perforations, lines and pumping equipment. Despite these efforts, many oil wells produce fluids that contain large amounts of particulate solids that can damage downhole components. Various forms of iron sulfide are frequently present in produced fluids and are very hard (6–6.5 Mohs Scale). These hard particles exacerbate wear on downhole components as they are carried through the downhole pumping system with the produced fluid.
It would therefore be desirable to prevent iron sulfide particles from contacting expensive downhole components. Despite the recognition of these problems, prior art attempts to protect downhole components from iron sulfide have been unsuccessful. It is to these and other deficiencies in the prior art that the present invention is directed.